Breaking News, August 18

Karnataka Congress a 'united house'; party will fight assembly polls under 'collective leadership': DK Shivakumar told news agency PTI today. 

Gold prices on Thursday increased by Rs 202 to Rs 51,745 per 10 gram in futures trade as speculators created fresh positions on a firm spot demand. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold contracts for October delivery traded higher by Rs 202 or 0.39 per cent at Rs 51,745 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 14,946 lots. Fresh positions built up by participants led to the rise in gold prices, analysts said. Globally, gold was trading 0.14 per cent lower at USD 1,779.20 per ounce in New York. 

Fifteen people were sentenced to death by a court in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district on Thursday (August 18) for killing an inmate of the Ghaghidih Central Jail in Jamshedpur during a clash between two groups in 2019. The court of additional district judge-4 Rajendra Kumar Sinha sentenced the 15 people to death by hanging after convicting them under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), additional public prosecutor Rajeev Kumar said. The court also sentenced seven others people to 10 years in prison after convicting them under IPC section 307 (attempt to murder), he said. Two of those sentenced to death are at large, police said.

Accusing the BJP of converting Jammu and Kashmir into a "laboratory for its experiments", PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said she has asked NC president Farooq Abdullah to convene an all-party meeting over poll authorities allowing outsiders to register as voters in the Union Territory. Hours later, a National Conference (NC) spokesperson said party president Farooq Abdullah has spoken to all mainstream parties in Jammu and Kashmir, except the BJP, and invited them to join the meeting here on August 22 to discuss the issue. "I have requested Farooq Sahib, being the seniormost leader, to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the new developments for adopting a unified course of action to deal with it," Mufti told reporters earlier. The PDP president said she has asked the National Conference leader to invite even such parties with which "we have differences".

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah has convened an all-party meeting here on August 22 to discuss the issue of inclusion of outside voters in Jammu and Kashmir electoral rolls. The meeting will discuss the future course of action with regard to the Election Commission allowing outsiders to register as voters in the Union Territory. "With regard to CEO's announcement stating that non-locals will be added as voters in J&K, Dr Farooq Abdullah has convened an APM (all-party meeting) on August 22 (Monday) at his residence," NC state spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said. Dar said Abdullah has spoken to the mainstream political parties in the Union Territory and invited them to join the meeting.

Low cost airline SpiceJet and Swiss firm Credit Suisse AG on Thursday told the Supreme Court they have resolved their financial dispute. The apex court then permitted SpiceJet to withdraw its appeal against a Madras High Court verdict ordering that the airline be wound up on account of alleged non-payment of dues to Credit Suisse AG.  "There is a settlement which has taken place on May 23, 2022 as per the consent terms. In view of it, both the parties are satisfied with the settlement and want to withdraw the SLP (special leave petition) filed by the petitioner. "Accordingly, the application is allowed," an apex court bench comprising Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Hima Kohli and C T Ravikumar said in the order. The parties, it said, are directed to abide by the consent terms.

A woman was booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 26-year-old man, a Thane police official said on Thursday. The man, identified as Vikram More, had hanged himself in his house on August 16 and a note found in a tin in the room alleged a woman in the neighbourhood had taken money from him and was now refusing to return it, he said. As per the note, More needed his money back to clear debts but the woman was threatening to implicate him in cases of he continued to demand repayment, the official said. "We have booked the woman under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. But no arrest has been made. Further probe is underway," the Kalwa police station official informed. 

COVID-19 patients have an increased risk of developing some neurological and psychiatric conditions, including psychosis, dementia, 'brain fog' and seizures, for two years after the infection compared to other respiratory diseases, suggests a study of over 1.25 million people published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. The researchers from the University of Oxford, UK, noted that there is also an increased risk of anxiety and depression in adults, but this subsides within two months of COVID-19 infection and, over two years, is no more likely than after other respiratory infections. Children were more likely to be diagnosed with some conditions, including seizures and psychotic disorders, but the likelihood of most diagnoses after COVID-19 was lower than in adults, they said. According to the team, the Delta variant was associated with more disorders than the Alpha variant while Omicron was linked with similar neurological and psychiatric risks as Delta.

A magistrate court here on Thursday directed Arthur Jail authorities to produce Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut before it through video conferencing in connection with a defamation complaint filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's wife Medha Somaiya. Raut was lodged at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. The Sewri metropolitan magistrate, hearing the defamation case filed by the BJP leader's wife, asked the jail authorities to produce Raut before the court at 12 noon on Thursday, her lawyer Vivekanand Gupta said.

More than 1,500 people lost their lives in road accidents on Mumbai-Goa highway between 2012 and 2022, Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Ravindra Chavan said in the state Assembly on Thursday. Chavan gave a written reply during a discussion through a calling attention notice by Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Prabhu. "From 2012 to 2022, a total of 6,692 accidents took place on the Mumbai-Goa highway and 1,512 people lost their lives," the minister said. "The state government is trying to complete the construction of the highway by December 2023,” he added. The lane widening work of the highway has been going on since many years. 

At least 205 people lost their lives and seven went missing in the state in the last over one-and-a-half-month of the monsoon season, the state disaster management director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said on Thursday. Since June 29, the state has suffered a total loss of Rs 1,014.08 crore due to damaged roads, water lines, and power transmission, he also said. At least 103 people lost their lives in 35 accidents from June 29 to August 16 during the ongoing monsoon season, and 33 people were killed in as many incidents of tree and rock fall. Twenty-five people drowned in six incidents, seven died in 48 landslides, and three lost their lives in 51 flash floods that occurred during the period, he said. Besides, 120 animals also lost their lives, 95 houses were fully damaged and 335 houses partially damaged in monsoon-related incidents in various parts of the state, Mokhta said. 

Supreme Court of India agrees to hear appeal of IOA against Delhi High Court order to set up a committee of administrators today (August 18) itself after hearing listed cases. 

A 827-kg cake to mark the birthday of a saint! A church in Kerala came up with one to coincide with the birthday of Saint Antony. Seeking to mark the 827th birthday of St Antony, a church, dedicated to him in nearby North Paravur, made a unique cake weighing 827 kg, which was 110 feet tall and six-feet wide. It was displayed at the church premises for devotees to have a glimpse and later distributed to them on Tuesday. The management of St Antony's shrine located at Chettikkad near North Paravur, a well-known pilgrim centre, conceptualised the huge cake as a sweet offering to be distributed to devotees who thronged the church during the festivities related to the saint's birthday.

When the Mehgna River swallowed Mohammad Jewel and Arzu Begum's tin-roofed family home overnight in southern Bangladesh just over a year ago they had no choice but to leave their ancestral village. The couple fled the next morning with their four young boys to the capital, Dhaka, over a hundred kilometers (62 miles) away from their home in Ramdaspur village in the Bhola district, one of the hardest-hit coastal areas where many villagers regularly lose their houses and land to rivers flowing into the Bay of Bengal. “We have grown up seeing the river, we live on the river by catching fish. But now it has taken everything from us,” Jewel said.

Bharti Airtel received spectrum allocation letter within few hours of making upfront payment to the Department of Telecom, Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said on Thursday. This is the first time ever that the Department of Telecom (DoT) has handed out a spectrum allocation letter on the day of making upfront payment. "Airtel paid Rs 8,312.4 crore towards spectrum dues and was provided the allocation letter for the designated frequency bands within hours. E band allocation was given along with spectrum as promised. No Fuss, No Follow Up, No running around the corridors and No tall claims. This is ease of doing business at work in its full glory," Mittal said in a statement.

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Kerala, known for its wide network of neighbourhood and self-help groups at the grassroot level, will soon have 10,000 farming groups in all districts in the same way. Called "krishikkoottam", the objective of such groups is to promote agriculture and to help farmers planning their cultivation. State Revenue Minister K Rajan said masterplans would be prepared on the basis of crops and areas of cultivation by forming local farming groups at the grassroot level on the model of neighbourhood networks, popularly known as "ayalkkoottam" in Kerala.

The Bhartiya Kisan Union-Tikait (BKU-Tikait) and several other constituents of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farmers, will hold a 75-hour sit-in at Rajapur Krishi-Utpadan Mandi Samiti in Lakhimpur Kheri from Thursday to press their pending demands. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha will hold the protest from August 18 to 20 to seek "justice" in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri during the violence that erupted in the Tikunia area of the district on October 3 last year. Farmers are also demanding the withdrawal of cases registered against them during the stir against the Centre's now-withdrawn farm laws, compensation to families of farmers who died during the year-long protest and legal guarantee for the minimum support price of crops.

Differences seem to have already emerged in the newly formed 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) in Bihar, with exasperation over choices made for cabinet portfolios palpable on Wednesday within the ruling camp, a day after the exercise was carried out. The CPIML (L), a partner in the Grand Alliance government, has demanded that the decision to induct RJD leader Kartikeya Singh in the cabinet be reconsidered as an arrest warrant was allegedly pending against him in a kidnapping case. The party’s state secretary, Kunal, said the decision to allocate law department portfolio to Singh could tarnish the new government’s image. Disapproving of yet another induction, JD(U) MLA Bima Bharti on Wednesday said she would quit her post if Chief Minister Nitish Kumar does not remove Leshi Singh from the cabinet. Bharti is reportedly upset over not being given any portfolio.

The US government has announced talks with Taiwan on a trade treaty in a new sign of support for the self-ruled island democracy claimed by China's ruling Communist Party as part of its territory. The announcement on Thursday comes after Beijing held military drills that included firing missiles into the seas around Taiwan in an attempt to intimidate the island after a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-level member of the US government to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Thursday's announcement by the US Trade Representative made no mention of tension with Beijing but said the negotiations were meant to enhance trade and regulatory cooperation, a step that would entail closer official interaction.

Three CISF commandos were dismissed from the service for the lapse in the security of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in February. According to sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), on February 16, a man attempted to drive his SUV into the Doval's residence in Delhi. The man was intercepted outside the NSA's house and was arrested at that time. The matter was considered as a lapse in the NSA's security of Ajit Doval and three CISF commandos have now been dismissed. These three commandos were posted in security at Ajit Doval's residence at the time of the incident.

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An Afghan refugee charged in the shooting deaths of two Muslim men and suspected in the killing of two others was ordered held without bond pending trial as prosecutors argued that he was a danger to his own family and the greater community. Prosecutors during a detention hearing on Wednesday pointed to Muhammad Syed's previous record, which included allegations of domestic violence and a case in which he refused to stop for law enforcement after running a red light. Charges in those cases were eventually dropped, but they argued that Syed's history showed a pattern of violence. “The defendant is really incapable of following any sort of lawful orders or incapable of following the law, period,” said John Duran, an assistant district attorney. “The defendant has really no regard for any law. It seems apparent he has further no regard for any human life.”

The Punjab Police on Wednesday evening arrested two members of a gang after heavy exchange of fire here, officials said. The two notorious criminals, belong to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang, broke a checkpoint at Jandiala here and were chased for nearly 11 km, they said. Officials said they they kept firing at the police party during the chase but were nabbed near Wadala Jihal drain. The accused have been identified as Gurbhej Singh and Shamsher Singh, both residents of Tarn Taran district. The police also seized 2 kg heroin and one automatic pistol from them, officials said, adding that Gurbhej was involved in three murder cases.  

Activists of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday came to blows in Dombivali in Thane district of Maharashtra, following which 16 of them were arrested, police said. The incident occurred outside a gymnasium in the Bhopar area following a heated exchange between local leaders of both the parties over some issue, a police official said. Two cross First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered. 

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday dropping Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from the party's Parliamentary board, the Congress took a dig saying it was a fallout of factionalism in the state BJP unit. The Congress claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given Chouhan an indication of future developments. BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh, however, refused to comment saying this is a decision of the party's central unit. In a major shake-up, the BJP on Wednesday dropped Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Shivraj Singh Chouhan from its Parliamentary board while bringing in six new members, including Karnataka leader B S Yediyurappa and Iqbal Singh Lalpura, a first Sikh representative.

Two new electric buses, including the first air-conditioned double-decker bus in the country, will join the fleet of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking here on Thursday, officials said on Wednesday. A single-decker electric bus for app-based premium bus service and a double-decker air-conditioned bus will be launched at a function to be held at NCPA in south Mumbai. Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis and other dignitaries will attend the event. Two books, including a coffee table book, will be published.

Five persons, including two members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Madhya Pradesh, were arrested by the police here on Wednesday for protesting over the issue of breach in the Karam Dam in Dhar district and alleging corruption in execution of the project, an official said. They were arrested and booked under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) section 188 (disobedience to the public servant order), he said. Among the arrested persons are state AAP spokespersons Hemant Joshi and Sanjeev Vaidya, the official said.

The man charged with stabbing Salman Rushdie on a lecture stage in western New York said in an interview that he was surprised to learn the accomplished author had survived the attack. Speaking to the New York Post from jail, Hadi Matar said he decided to see Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution after he saw a tweet last winter about the writer's planned appearance. “I don't like the person. I don't think he's a very good person,” Matar told the newspaper. “He's someone who attacked Islam. He attacked their beliefs, the belief systems.”

Increased risk of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as dementia and seizures is still higher two years after COVID-19 compared to other respiratory infections, suggests an observational study of over 1.25 million patient health records published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. The increased risk of depression and anxiety in adults lasts less than two months before returning to rates comparable to those after other respiratory infections. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there has been growing evidence that survivors might be at increased risk of neurological and psychiatric conditions. A previous observational study by the same research group reported that COVID-19 survivors are at increased risk of several neurological and mental health conditions in the first six months after infection. However, until now, there have been no large-scale data examining the risks of these diagnoses over a longer time period.